James slipped into unconsciousness before they were even able to move him below deck. After they had made the wounded cook and quarter master as comfortable as they could make him, they returned to the top deck.

Sidney’s eyes were wide. Niles could see the worry there, and the shock of what had happened. “Is he going to be okay?”

“We need to get him to a doctor as soon as possible,” Andrea told him.

“Will she get us to another port?” Niles asked Walter as he gestured to the deck.

Walter was looking over the starboard railing where the hooker lines had wrapped around the barge’s hull. “Starboard prop looks like it’ll make it, Cap.”

The prop had taken minimal damage, but that couldn’t be said for other parts of Niles’ barge. His eyes had went wide when he realized—upon taking James back to his cabin—that the Dusty Maiden’s gondola had sustained severe damage to her underbelly. Thick rays of bright light shot up through the lower deck, splashing jagged islands of illuminated light upon the ceiling. There were multiple holes large enough to fit a booted foot through, and one hole was so large Niles had made an exaggerated effort in steering clear of it.

“I can’t believe it,” Andrea had said as she looked at the damage.

Jon thumbed in chin thoughtfully. “Niles, we can’t continue like this. We need to find a safe port where the Order won’t be looking for us.”

“What about James?” Walter asked.

“We need to get James to a doctor as soon as possible” Andrea said. “He’s not going to last long in his condition.”

“Of course—of course,” Jon said. “That comes first, obviously.”

And then there’s the Dusty Maiden, Niles thought. She wouldn’t get much further in this condition. He knew without a doubt they would cross paths with more Guardians as they continued on their mission. “Okay, okay, okay,” he said, racking his brain for ideas that would suite the situation. “We need to find a port where the Order isn’t looking for us. The port must have expert doctors on hand, and must also have the means to fix sky barges. Ideas, anyone?”

Nobody said anything. Finally Andrea stepped forward. “We could...” She hesitated.

“Yes?” Jon asked.

“We could head for Norstrum,” she finished with a shrug.

“That’s a really bad idea,” Walter said. “It’s a refuge for pirates and all sorts of other scum.”

“Chances are we’d be hit by pirates before even reaching the city,” Emma added.

Jon was still deep in thought about the matter.

Niles breathed out heavily. Where else can we go? he wondered. If they traveled to a port where the Order was present, chances were likely they’d be on alert. Was it possible to get to a port that hadn’t reached word of the Dusty Maiden yet? But then he decided against it. The chances they could get to a settlement that had not been alerted by messenger barges already was extremely unlikely.

They could go to Norstrum, but as Emma and Walter said it, would be extremely dangerous. What other settlements were close by that were not controlled by the Order? There were none, and even if there were, most of them would be the same as Norstrum, or even worse.

There is no alternative, Niles told himself. “Andrea, take us to Norstrum.”

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“Niles,” Emma said heatedly, “you can’t possibly—“

“There’s no other way,” he said sternly. “If we don’t try for Norstrum now, James will die. We can’t have his death on our hands when there’s something we can do about it. He’s part of the crew and we owe him our loyalty. As Captain it’s my responsibility to make this decision.

“And what about the rest of us?” Emma shot back.

Jon stepped forward, put a hand forward for peace. “Emma, I think Niles is correct on this. We’d do anything for our friends on the Skydawn, wouldn’t we?”

Emma looked down at the deck and nodded. “Of course. You’re right.”

Without needing to argue further, Niles turned to Andrea and said, “Take us to Norstrum.”

Andrea nodded to Niles. “I’m on it.”

Despite the damage to her hull, the Dusty Maiden cruised at a swift pace, and after several hours Emma returned to the top deck and informed Niles that James was still alive, but that he wouldn’t make it if they didn’t reach Norstrum within the next two days.

After what Emma had said, Niles told Andrea to put the props on full burn, damn the expense of the fuel. He wouldn’t let James die while he was captaining the Dusty Maiden.

Then it dawned on him that there might be nothing he could do for James, no matter what. None of them were physicians, much less healers of a magical nature. For all they knew, James was slowly dying and nothing was to be done.

“I’m sorry about James,” Jon said as he gazed off to port with Niles. “I hope he pulls through.”

Niles breathed in deeply. “James has been on my crew for six years. He’s more than a hired hand... he’s a friend.” Then after a moment Niles added. “They all are.”

“It’s hard being in a position of command, watching people you care about get hurt,” Jon said. “But if there’s one piece of advice I can give you, it’s to not blame yourself.”

“Not blame myself?” Niles asked incredulously. “How could I not blame myself?”

“You have to look at the larger picture,” Jon said, his voice softer than usual. “The fate of the world rests with us. Some of us will die—maybe all of us.”

“I can’t accept that.”

Jon didn’t say anything. Then he said, “No... some can’t.”

“What do you mean?”

“People have had to make hard decisions being in positions of command,” Jon said. “Some have knowingly sent men—and woman—to their deaths for what they believed was the greater good.”

“How do they cope?”

“They cope by changing their outlook.”

“How?”

“You begin to realize that without the sacrifices of the people under your command...” Jon hesitated, then he drew in a deep breath. “...there would be no greater good, and the world we know today will slowly cease to exist.”

“And you believe it justifies sending people to their deaths?”

“You haven’t sent James to his death. He chose to be here because he believes in this mission just as much as you or I. Don’t take that away from him.”

“You haven’t answered my questions, Jon.”

Jon paused for a moment. “Say for instance—hypothetically—that you’re working at a dig site. You receive word that another dig site has been attacked by a hoard of scorg. The men and woman there are trapped, and more scorge are on the way. You’re in command and the large majority of the two groups have made it out alive and safe. What do you do? Do you leave, accept that there will be losses, dooming the others who are trapped to certain death, or do you try and get them out, knowing you’ll lose more people than if you simply left them to their fate?”

Niles thought for a moment. He knew it would be an extremely difficult choice to make, had it been real. “The right choice would be to go back and save the others,” he said.

“Which means,” Jon said, holding up a finger, “the best we can do is to make sure we finish our task so that none of us die in vain.” Jon turned to walk away, but then he said, “It was thirteen years ago when I made the choice of going back to save the others. Thirty-six of my people died to get out the twelve that were trapped... I don’t regret it. And I don’t doubt for a moment that those who died to help the others would either.”

Jon had lived the experience he was talking about, Niles mused. Maybe the middle-aged Guardian knew what he was talking about. What he had said seemed to make sense. Niles’ crew wanted to be here. They were not conscripts in some army who’d rather stay home with their families. And besides, he’d given them the choice to step off the barge in Dara City, a place where they could easily find accommodations or even new work.

Niles smiled. He wanted to thank Jon for what he’d told him, but he knew it was not necessary. Now it was up to him to do everything in his power to save James. If he couldn’t... It would be hard to take, but Niles knew he would still be able to sleep at night.

With that in mind, he made his way down the companionway toward the bunk where his cook was resting. If he was conscious, maybe they could exchange a few words—but Niles was bad with words.

Either way, James was sleeping when he got there, so the captain said nothing. A feeling deep in his gut worried him. Nostrum was a scorg pit of a settlement. There would be no messing around once the Dusty Maiden made port.